Lexi Dowdall was working in the ski industry when the COVID-19 pandemic hit during the busiest time of the season. When all the resorts closed, she started painting to keep busy.
Since she skis around 80 days a year, Dowdall incorporated that aspect of her life into her art. Dowdall often paints ski resort scenes, but with a twist; every watercolor painting she makes of a ski resort is painted with snowmelt from the resort.
“I'll just scoop up some snow into some jugs in my backpack and ski it off the mountain and wait for it to melt, and then I'll paint with it,” she said.
Dowdall said she’s had some interesting interactions with ski patrol because of this.
“One of them said, ‘Promised me you won't drink this,’” she said. “Most of them think I'm injured because I'm like, on the ground scooping up snow. So I will say Deer Valley had the fastest ski patrol response time.”
Dowdall showed off her work at the Summit Arts Market June 13. The free event aims to support local artists and cultivate collectors on the eastern side of Summit County.
who showcased and sold her art at the market. She said events like the Summit Arts Market are critical.
“We artists just kind of live in a vacuum, we're head down creating,” Dowdall said. "So it's awesome to like, have this opportunity to network with specific communities."
So far Dowdall has painted 10 of Utah’s 15 resorts. She has yet to paint with snowmelt from Beaver Mountain, Nordic Valley, Cherry Peak, Woodward and Powder Mountain.
